Advice for Rookies at their first regional?

[DonRotolo]

1. Some pits are just a table and piles of boxes and crates, and others are elaborate workspaces. Some teams leave their pits a mess, and others keep them clean and super-well organized. Some teams allow anyone to hang out, other teams strictly limit the pits to those that are really essential. Some teams regularly exceed the 10' x 10' boundaries, and others do not.

Guess which teams are winning in competiton? generally the latter.

2. Judges love buttons and other give-aways. NO FOOD OR CANDY!

3. That would be both gracious and, assuming it's not in poor taste, professional. All the rookies are competing for Rookie All-Star, but that's no reason not to become good friends with them, since they're in the same boat.

Don't forget - when you are at the comp, be helpful, share whatever you can with everyone (keep track of tools with a pad & pen, who took what, coross out when it returns), bring all your extras to give away to someone who needs, etc. Go and look at the other robots, get ideas, ask questions, get help, give help... all that.

Oh, and for all the kids who are not essential but want to be in the pits? Get them to help someone else (there will be several teams who need it), after all, they like working on robots right? Does it matter whose robot it is??

Don